Forks Again
by Lendy
Summary: After 45 years, Bella decides to surprise Edward with a trip back to Forks. She has an ulterior motive though...& that is to check on her ex-best friend Jacob Black. But what has Jake done with his life since Edward and Bella left?
1. Return

All the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, including everything I play around with from the _Twilight_ series...till I bring in my new characters at least.

He smiled my crooked smile.  
"What are you doing, Bella?"  
"Just wait a minute, ok."  
"You know how this frustrates me," he replied.  
I only laughed to myself and kept dragging him further. Soon, he would find out where we were...I was surprised he hadn't figured it out already by the smells alone. It'd been a long time since we had even come to this town, forty-five years to be exact. It was amazing the difference between then and now.  
Then, I was eighteen years old, well I still am kind of, but I was much more vulnerable than I'd realized. I came here mourning Edward's decision that I was better off without him, which we found out, is not such a grand idea after all. We were both miserable. But, at the time, I truely thought that he didn't care for me any longer and did not want me around any more. After being endlessly devoted to each other, and married for a time, I decided it was time we came back to where this all started.  
Forks.  
I'd decided enough time had passed that I could come back without too many lasting effects. Besides, I'd heard Jacob wasn't doing well. Although he'd aged some, Jacob only looked a few years older than what I did. You could say we've all aged well. But I felt like something was pulling me here after all this time, that I couldn't ignore. This was after all, where my life really began.  
"Bella, come on. I'm getting a little suspicious with the blind fold and you not telling me exactly where we are." He was so amusing when he was frustrated.  
"Just another minute, Edward. You've always been so impatient when it comes to surprises," I replied.  
"Well, it still gets on my nerves that I cannot hear what you're thinking. And it doesn't help that I've never liked surprises," he fumed.  
"And we are here," I said after stepping through the last wall of tree branches. He ripped off his blind fold at top speed, wondering just where we were, when he let out a gasp of surprise. We were in what I had called his meadow for years. It was the same perfectly round circle of tree-hedged field, with a stream running through it a short distance aways. This was the first place Edward and I had really been alone together in, and the first place I saw what he really was.  
"Why...are we here, Bella," he asked in a low whisper.  
"I thought this would be a nice place to visit first while we were in the area. I wanted to come back for old times sake." But I thought the plus side in my mind. To see Jacob Black. I couldn't possibly tell Edward that though. Although they had more or less settled their differences, there was still some bad blood between my husband and my ex-best friend.  
"I'm not quite sure why we're even in the area," he replied. "I understand that you have strong ties to this town, Bells, but it hasn't been long enough yet. What if Mike Newton or one of the other people see us that we graduated with forty-five years ago? They might be old, but they might not be that senile yet."  
He really did have his points sometimes, but we were here and I was determined.  
"I guess we'll be our grandchildren come to see the tiny town their destined-to-be-together grandparents met in." Was that the best I could do? Probably while on the spot like this, oh well.  
"Yes, grandchildren that look exactly like their grandparents..." he retorted.  
"Well, I could go grab us some hair dye from the store and we could..."  
"No Isabella, we need to leave before anyone sees us." He was being very strange about this situation, maybe he'd guessed at why I brought him here.  
"Edward, it will not hurt us to creep around in the shadows at night like real live vampires and just look to see what's changed." I smiled sarcastically.  
"Hmph. I still don't like it. What if our secret get's out? You know how bad of a gossip Jessica Stanley was even while we were in school with her."  
"I don't know, we'll play it off. We're good at that remember? We do it all the time. Come on, I want to go see Charlie's old house..."


	2. Home

All the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, including everything I play around with from the _Twilight_ series...till I bring in my new characters at least.

"Wow. Didn't really expect this, but I guess I should have known Alice better than that." I commented after walking into Charlie's house for the first time since I had left. It hadn't changed in the least bit, the same furniture was still in residence even if it had been out-dated when I first arrived in Forks. Alice had insisted on keeping up the house, even though we couldn't live here again yet. But I had not expected to see the house in mint condition. Edward, of course knew all the intricate details, but he had not informed me that she had gone to these lengths to keep me happy.

"Why did you let her do this Edward? She could've just sold it or remodeled…"

"I would not allow her to, Bella. I knew it would be better for you after Charlie died, to see to see the house how he had loved and enjoyed it."

He knew I had a hard time talking about Charlie's death, but Edward would not have brought it up if it were not important. I still couldn't believe Charlie was dead, and that he had died the same way Harry Clearwater had.

"Thank you," I managed to whisper, before I was speechless. If I could cry, I would. He pulled me into our stone embrace, comforting me once again while I mourned the loss of my father. Automatically almost, I began thinking of Renee. She was not doing well, but a car accident a few years prior had left her mostly blind, so I could at least visit now. Lately my mother was getting worse, she was getting close to death, I could see the pain coming. Mine. But she had lived a long, full life with Phil and he was still with her as we spoke. He is only a few years younger than she is though. It wouldn't be long after Renee died that Phil would go too, he loved her too much to live without her. Although I had not originally agreed with my mothers choice of matrimonial replacement of my father, I had grown to love Phil, especially after Charlie's heart attack.

"Are you alright love? Maybe we should sit down for a moment," Edward said as he pulled me to the same worn, wooden kitchen table. I really didn't feel alright, but I was managing.

"I'll be ok. I just need to stop thinking for once." I didn't want to be here anymore, this was a bad idea. I shouldn't have come here.

"Edward, can we go now, please?"

"Sure, it's your surprise. We go where you say to."

He reminded me that this was my idea and I was the one who wanted to leave five minutes after we arrived. I just thought…I thought I was ready to face my old life. I wasn't. Not by a long shot. I couldn't deal with finding out who was alive or dead, but I still needed to see Jacob Black.

"Do you think I could call Jacob?" Immediately, I felt Edward tense. "I only want to see if he's finally moved on, Edward. I have to see that he's happy, I have to know that he's ok." I quickly explained.

"Sure, he's close, I can smell him not to mention hear his thoughts. Do you want his cell number?" He was a little more animated now, but I could still see his eyes, and they had half-hidden resentment in them.

"Yeah, it's still weird how much the range of your hearing has increased." I still couldn't believe it had more than doubled in the past few years.

He had already written down the number and was handing it to me along with his phone. It rang twice, then I heard that deep voice I'd been waiting to hear for so long.

"Who is this? How'd you get my number?" his voice was hostile sounding, like he was being interrupted.

"It's me Jake," I choked out.

"Bells," he whispered after a long pause.

"How in the world are you Jacob? I've wanted to talk with you for so long. Can we meet somewhere so we can catch-up?"

"I…don't know if that's a good idea Bella. A lot has changed, I'm chief and I'm not really sure if…"

I cut him off. "Jacob E. Black, do not even expect me to just turn around and leave town after so many years and not even see my best friend or find out how he is!"

I guess with so many years and being changed into a powerful being, my voice actually sounded threatening, because he caved.

"Sure Bella, we can meet down on First Beach. Give me a few minutes to tell the pack, so they won't tear you to pieces. Wait, are you with…him?"

"Yes, we'll be together if you don't mind, Jake."

"Well, it'd be better if you could come alone. See, we've got a couple new wolves and if too many of you get around.." he trailed off. I knew what he was saying. They wouldn't be able to resist trying to kill us. We did that to those Quileute kids, that just so happened to turn into a vampires mortal enemies.

"I'll see, ok? Just tie-up any loose ends." My attempt at a joke didn't go well, Jake stayed silent.

"It's not a problem us crossing the treaty line and all is it? I don't want to tick off anyone."

"No, the treaty's broken, remember? But don't worry, let's call it truce. I don't want to think about anyone getting into a war. I have…" he stopped short, not finishing his thought.

"What?" he got my curiosity up. But he hesitated to tell me whatever it was.

"Never mind right now. I'll tell you when you get here. See ya in a few Bells." _Click_

He'd hung up, but I was still clutching the phone to my ear, I couldn't imagine what would make him feel so strongly that he would just call everything even with me and the rest of the Cullens, so I gave up temporarily.

"So are we going to see the mutt, or is it going to just you?" Edward asked with acid flowing through his voice.

"We're both going, he's called truce. He doesn't want the chance of a war with us at all." At that Edward seemed shocked. He only asked when we were meeting.

"In five minutes, on First Beach. There's no more treaty, just a truce." That seemed to pacify him.

"Alright, I'll race you there. But I'll be fair and give you a head start." He was elated now, and only rubbing in the fact that he could still run faster than I could, could make him _that_ happy.

"Fine," I hissed. "But you know you're still going to win."

"I know, but I'll at least try to make it fair." He was positively thrilled that we were going running, we hadn't had a chance to run very far in a long time, and I had to admit I loved racing with him.

"Fine," I hissed once more. And then I disappeared. Out of my home. Again.


	3. First Beach

**I do not own charaters or settings until further notice, but I did come up with Lexi, Josh, and Abe. Bella and the others belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. If i ever have half the talent she does, it wil be a miracle.**

Chapter 3 First Beach

I was flying. I was running as fast as I could to La Push, and I knew it still wouldn't be fast enough. I feel him catching up with me. It didn't matter if I was a strong, mature vampire, he was still the fastest thing I'd seen in all my years. It was like I could always feel him before I could even smell him. Our bond had become so incredibly strong, because we were never away from each other. It wasn't just what we were, no. It was something different. If we had been human, I would have said we were soul mates, or even if we were werewolves I would've said we had imprinted on each other. But we were mates, that was the only way to explain it. Suddenly, there he was.

"Gotcha," he whispered as he caught up with me moments after I had left.

"I thought you said you were giving me a head start." I said as we both slowed to a vampire's walking pace. We were just outside the old treaty line, and more than a little anxious about crossing it. This was the first time I'd been this close to the packs territory since I was changed, and I still did not know what all the others imagined about the smell. It was fine to me, although Edward seem to have his nose permanently wrinkled.

"Are you sure Jake said it was alright that we cross the treaty line?" Edward asked suddenly stopping me.

"He said the treaty was broken, so there's not really a line to cross. He's chief now supposedly, so what he says goes." I replied hesitantly. I still wanted to know why he was chief, and if something had happened to Sam, or if Jake had finally decided to take his rightful place. I could not help my self from thinking about him, especially after chasing him all over the north west when he ran away. That was the last time I had seen Jacob. He was weak from hunger and self-torture, still in his wolf form, and so pitiful I couldn't help but blame myself for making him suffer like that. After all, it was because of mine and Edward's marriage that he ran off in the first place.

Edward just continued thinking to himself as we resumed our slow walk to the beach he hadn't seen for years and years.

"Bella? Earth to Bella!" I finally realized Edward was trying to get my attention. I had been off in my own little world and we already walking through the trees to First Beach.

"I'm sorry, I was just…remembering things." I added hesitantly. I still hated bringing up my feelings about Jake up around my husband. It was just awkward and it really sparked some emotion in him that I couldn't understand.

He seemed to understand what I was saying and only grabbed my hand to lead me to the shore, to look out over the crashing waves. I'm not completely sure how long we looked out over the water, but soon enough I could hear Jacob coming and he had company. I didn't recognize the scent of the others, so I figured they were the new additions to the pack. Edward and I turned as one as Jacob appeared through the trees, and the younger ones hung back around the tree line, seeming to shimmer when they caught our scent.

Jake strolled right up to me, grimacing only slightly as he took in all the details that made me now. For a moment, we only stood and stared at one another, wondering what to do next. All of a sudden, Jacob pulled me into a bone crushing embrace. He seemed genuinely happy to see me again, even if the renovations repulsed him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the new additions, still unsure of themselves, relax slightly. They knew if their leader would get this close to us, then it must be alright, but they were having issues controlling themselves still.

"You smell horrible Bells," he laughed after he released me. He looked good, the same overwhelming height and strength as before, but there was a slight change to him that I could sense. It was if he hadn't aged but a week in forty-five years, those werewolves had it better than they believed.

"I took a shower this morning, I swear!" I mocked astonishment, but we all dissolved into laughter at the old joke.

"Edward, you seem to be keeping up your part of the bargain," Jake said, and they exchanged a knowing glance. I was frustrated as always with Edward's power and his never-ending worry about me. It seemed that they had an agreement, but about what? I didn't think he would stoop so low as to bargain about my safety, but….you could never tell with these two. The past few times Edward and Jacob had gotten together, they seemed much more friendly towards each other. Only men would go from hating each other, to watching games or generally getting along in less than a day.

"Yes Jacob, I'm keeping my end as tightly as ever. So how have you been these many years?" This was getting oddly suspicious.

"Busy…_very_ busy." Jake replied chuckling. He was being cryptic, and he knew how much that irritated me.

"Jacob, what have you really been up to? We want to know how things have been around here since we left," I questioned.. This was reassuring, I had missed Jake and I needed this information to keep me sane.

"Well," he said looking behind him and motioning the small girl and three large boys towards him. "These little brats, are the youngest in my pack. I've taken over as chief, since Emily got pregnant soon after my return and wanted Sam around more. This one," he motioned to the oldest boy, by far ten years older than the other. Well, when I say boy, I mean young man. You must remember how old I am at this point. "he is Sam and Emily's youngest, Abe. But these two back here shivering to keep control," he laughed at his own mocking. "are Lexi and Josh, my children."

At that moment, if I could've had a heart attack, I would have. I really had not expected that one. For some reason, I'd always thought of Jake as never settling down. Of course I really hoped that he would imprint on a nice girl from his tribe, but this was somehow unexpected.. "Come back to us sweetheart, he's freaking out," Edward whispered so only I could hear. I didn't know what they saw on my face, but Jacob sent his children and Abe back home.

"Bells? Are you still on planet Earth?" Jacob asked panicking. Then I decided to snap back to reality.

"Oh, they seemed very nice, Jake," I managed somehow.

"Yeah, with wanting to tear you to shreds and all, they're really sweet kids." He was laughing at his own joke, and Edward was snickering along with him. What was this? The freaking twilight zone or something?

"Well, I was trying to be nice Jacob. I can see that I wasted my efforts on you." I always seemed to get mad at him for some reason.

"Aw come on Bella, don't be like that. They are great kids, Lexi doesn't look like much, but she's almost as strong as me sometimes." He really enjoyed that. His daughter must have gotten many of the amazingly strong Black genes in her.

"Well, this question's going to come up sooner or later," might as well get this out of the way, it was eating away at me anyhow. He immediately became suspicious, like he knew what was coming and didn't want to face it in the least bit.

"Who's their mother? Did you ever decide to get married or what?" I fired off all at once. For a moment I wondered if I had spoken loud enough for him to hear me, and in that moment Edward's face changed from a questioning look, to one of great sympathy as he heard all of Jacob's most private thoughts. I could already tell this wasn't going to be pretty.

"Well, it's a really long story Bella," he dodged my question.

"I've got all the time in the world, Jake. Just spit it out before you get too old," I said trying to lighten up the atmosphere. What a great time to not have Jasper's little talent around, but he and Alice were honeymooning again in Jamaica.

"Okay, but this is going to shock you a little," he sighed before beginning his tale. "After I came back, I was still weak. Barely, but dad couldn't take care of me like I needed with him still in his wheelchair and all," he grimaced, I could only guess that Billy had passed too from Jake's unwillingness to talk about him. "But most of the pack didn't have that much spare time, because we had a couple visitors around then, but Leah did. After her little stunt in the clearing with all the newborns, she was told to stay on the reservation until further notice. So naturally, she was the one to take care of me the most. The first couple months were extremely hard, we couldn't be in the same room for more than fifteen minutes at a time, but gradually we got to where we could stand each other. Then of course, Billy got to thinking about me being so sad all the time and I guess I perked up a little when Leah showed up, because Billy and Mrs. Clearwater decided to arrange a marriage between me and Leah." At this, I was totally taken aback.

"Bella, remember, they have different customs than the rest of us follow," Edward reminded me.

"So," Jacob continued. "They thought that since neither of us had imprinted and were both alone and unhappy, maybe we could be a little happier together. But remember, this was only about twenty years ago and it took us a while to even get used to the idea." Jake didn't seem like he loved Leah at all, on the contrary, he acted like he hated to think of her. But Jake was in a different time and place now, he was thinking about what his father and Leah's mother had concocted over twenty years ago.

"Everything was okay…at first. We were used to being around each other, and we enjoyed each other's company for the most part. But after a few years Leah found she was pregnant with Josh, no big deal, I wanted a son. I just didn't love Leah. I liked her just fine, but there was never any love there, only mutual agreement. Since we both continued to change, we knew exactly what we thought, but we also knew there wasn't anything better out there form us." I felt such pity for Jacob right now, but what could I do? By this point, we had made our way over to the same old driftwood tree were Jacob and I would sit. But Jake was still speaking, so I listened back in.

"After Leah had Lexi, things got a lot worse. We never seemed to get along, we played house for the kids, but when they left all hell broke loose. One day we went on patrol together, and as soon as we changed I knew it. Leah imprinted on a visitor from the northern tribe. I felt how much she wanted to be with him and how strong that bond was. I knew it was pointless to even try to make our marriage work, so I told her to go on and be with him and I would keep the kids. They go see her and Max every weekend, but I can't help but think that I did the wrong thing to let her go like that," he finally came back to the present, and he looked his age almost. The poor guy was miserable, but there was nothing to do. He was caring for his children and being a responsible parent, but it was wearing him down…I could see it in his eyes.

"Jacob….I am, so sorry," was the only thing I could manage to think of saying. Somehow, it still didn't seem big enough for all his problems. He had endured so much in the past years, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. He had his own life to live, and he was doing the best he could with it. I had to let him go knowing he had some joy in his life though.

"But Jacob, you enjoy your children don't you?" Edward asked, almost like he was reading my mind.

"Of course! Those kids are all I have to hold on to this life for. They're the only reason that really get's me up in the morning's and make's me carry on with all my duties. I live for those two and they bring me the greatest joy anyone could know. If you must know, they like me more than they do their mother," he laughed dryly to himself.


	4. Powers

Chapter 4- Powers

I couldn't believe what he had told me. It just didn't make sense, how could my Jake be all grown? To me, he was still the same. At least in my head. Jacob Black had grown up though; there was no way around it.

"Bells? What's wrong with her, Edward?" I heard a panicking Jacob ask. It still was not sinking in that he had moved on with his life. Jacob had, I made myself think it, _children_. One thing I could never have. But after all, I still didn't want children. Rosalie said I was strange, but I truly did not feel a need for kids. They were fine if they were someone else's, but it wasn't for me. Besides I was too happy with Edward and it was an impossibility for him too. I was happy; didn't Jake deserve a little happiness too?

"Yeah, sorry Jake. I do that sometimes, just zone out for a minute that is." I didn't know how else to describe the side effects of one of my powers. My ability to see a person's past and bend minute details sometimes could be a real pain. Maybe that should be the way I describe it, because I always get caught up in that person's story and experiences. In the past years I had gotten control of it, but when someone like Jake catches me off guard, I get side-tracked.

"Whatever floats your boat. Stop staring at me like that, it's freaking me out!" Jake was getting suspicious now, holy crow, there's no way I could tell him about this. Almost as if he could read my mind, he asked a question I was dreading.

"So Bella, what kind of freaky powers did you get when Ed over here changed you? It seems like since you were immune to all of those other vamps that you would get something really cool," Jake inquired. There was really no way around this. I looked at Edward, and all he thought was, "you might as well tell him." "Well uh Jake, I have a couple strange powers," I was stalling, but he didn't notice.

"A couple? Don't the rest of 'em have like one each?" He asked such good questions, but I hope I could really tell him that I did not have an answer to that yet.

"Uh, yeah. Still trying to figure that one out. But I can do basically the same thing Edward can, hear thoughts and all, but I do it at my own free will. I can turn the thoughts on and off though. And I have another, but I don't like telling people about it." I was getting more than a little nervous, there were always things people wanted me to change about their past and I couldn't always alter some things. They were just too big, and they altered too many other people's lives, the effects could be catastrophic.

"Oh come on, it couldn't be that bad. You're still around, so it's not too deadly. We used to tell each other everything Bella," he did have point, I guess I could always tell him no.

"I can see a person's past Jake and alter it, once I'm tuned into that person. It's really not all that great; I could cause some serious trouble with it if I changed the wrong things." I waited for the explosion of questions that everyone I told asked me, but he didn't say anything for a while.

"Hmm, pretty nifty. What's a thing you've changed in the past?" He wasn't exactly reacting the way I thought, but it would come soon enough.

"I changed how Charlie saw my eyes several time, I didn't want him to get suspicious. I've smoothed over some fights I've had with people like Renee, nothing big," I was trying to get off this discussion before his past could come back to haunt me.

"So are looking at my past now?" Jake was really intrigued.

"No, it's something I consciously control most of the time, but if I accidentally slip I stop as quickly as possible, because as you saw I zone out. I don't like to go through a person's past unless they know what I'm capable of and consent," this was beginning to become stranger and stranger. He had not asked for a favor yet.

"Huh, cool. You might have to go talk to Quil, he needs some help," Jacob laughed. I hoped he wasn't serious, most of the time it was a very awkward situation.

"You're kidding right?" I couldn't help but ask, and Jake must have understood that it wasn't exactly something I enjoyed doing.

"Yeah, Quil's had a great life. There's nothing I can think of that he would want to change. You don't really like that power do you, Bells?" he asked concerned.

"No, it's very convenient sometimes like if someone gets suspicious, but it's a very strange power. I don't like manipulating things," it was convenient, like when that stray hiker found Edward and me hunting a few weeks ago.

"I don't think I want to know. Hey, you all want to go up to the house?" The always dreary weather was beginning another round of showers, and we had forgotten our jackets.

"Sure, we won't be barging in on anyone will we?" Edward asked. He was always such the gentleman; I always knew he didn't belong in this place in time. He was too courteous to everyday people.

"I've got an idea," I announced. "How about we see who's faster, vampires or a mongrel!" Whatever Jake thought was about to come out of my mouth, it wasn't that.

"Are you sure you're up for the challenge? I don't want to hurt any bloodsucker's feelings," Jake laughed. "And Bella, you didn't carry any of your clumsiness over into your vampire life?"

"No Jake, I'm as graceful as never. I haven't fallen on my face in forty-five some odd years, and I can run faster than most cars can drive," was my retort. But I heard Edward chuckling to himself again.

"What's so funny Edward?" I was beginning to get defensive and with good reason.

"It's only that, well I'll beat you both, and you don't seem to care. I've already beaten Jacob once, and you Bella more times than you can count!" I couldn't deny that, but I did remember several times after I was newly turned that I beat him by minutes and not seconds. He picked up on that thought, because my mind was open at the moment, and his face sobered instantly.

"Well, if you want to remember things from that long ago, go ahead. But I will still beat you this time." We hadn't realized that in our quarreling that Jacob had already changed and was waiting for us to notice his thoughts blaring at us to hurry up.

"Okay Jake, as long as you won't get your feelings hurt." Jacob only thought we were crazy, and began running at his full werewolf speed while Edward and I began our second race of the day.

* * *

** I do not own Stephenie Meyer's character's, just my own. I know it's been a while since my last update, & I'm sorry it took so long. I've been having trouble communicating w/ a beta. Please comment though, I'm kinda having writer's block still & I need a little inspiration!!**

**Thanks so much!!**

**Lendy**


	5. Discontinuation

Well, I'm sorry to all my readers, but i'm thinking about discontinuing my story for a while & reposting it finished this summer when i actually have some time. I've been so busy recently i haven't been fair to my readers, & the last chapter could have been much better.

But add me to your authors list & you'll hear from me again soon.

Thanks, with peace & love to all

Lendy


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